Glaucoma and Intraocular Pressure
Glaucoma is characterized by optic nerve head excavation which can lead to loss of peripheral vision and sometimes loss of central vision. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of vision loss worldwide; an estimated 66.8 million people will have primary glaucoma and 6.7 million will be bilaterally blind due to this disorder. In the United States, glaucoma is the second leading cause of permanent blindness and the leading cause among African Americans. While glaucoma is treatable and vision loss can be prevented, once vision loss occurs it is irreversible. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for the development of glaucoma, but it is not found in all patients with the disease (Sommer, A. et al., Arch. Ophthalmol. 109: 1090–1095 (1991)). Glaucoma associated with elevated IOP is divided into three major categories: open angle, closed angle and developmental. Each of these categories is further divided into primary and secondary forms, and by the age of onset. Drugs that lower IOP, such as latanoprost, unoprost, timolol which target prostaglandin F2α and β2 adrenergic receptors are being currently used to prevent and delay ocular degeneration in glaucomatous patients.
There is therefore a continued need to identify and characterize targets and in turn products for the prevention and treatment of ocular disorders, such as glaucoma.